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Wild sign Calder Trophy winner Kirill Kaprizov to five-year contract extension

Steven Psihogios
·2 min read
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 28: Kirill Kaprizov #97 of the Minnesota Wild celebrates with teammates on the bench after scoring a second-period power-play goal against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Seven of the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on May 28, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights defeated the Wild 6-2 to win the series. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The Minnesota Wild agreed to a five-year extension with forward Kirill Kaprizov that'll total $45-million, earning him an annual average value (AAV) of $9 million.

After being selected by the Wild in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Draft, Kaprizov finally made the jump from the KHL to the NHL last season. In his rookie year, the 24-year-old potted 27 goals and 51 points and took home the Calder Trophy as the league's top freshman. Both his goal and point total led Minnesota in each category in 2020-21.

In the KHL, Kaprizov was one of the league's best players. Across 293 games played with Metallurg Novokuznetsk, Salavat Yulaev Ufa, and CSKA Moskva, he recorded 113 goals and 230 points. In six seasons, he was named to five KHL All-Star teams and twice finished as the league's leading goal-scorer. In 2018, Kaprizov won a gold medal with the Olympic Athletes from Russia and scored a tournament-best five goals.

His cap hit of $9 million per season makes him the highest-paid player on the Wild, eclipsing captain Jared Spurgeon's $7.575-million AAV.

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